If you are in a tight schedule and you don’t have enough time for going to the bait-shop then you can confidently use this easy hookbait for catla. It works as good as the traditional catla chhatu (ছাতু: particle mix), maybe even better.
For Base Mix You Will Need
- 1 KG of Field corn (ভুট্টা)
- 1/2 KG of Cheak Peas (ছোলা)
- 1/2 KG of Fragranced Rice (সুগন্ধী চাউল)
For Spice Mix You Will Need:
- 50 Grams of Pure Ghee (খাঁটি ঘিঁ)
- 2 Pieces of Nutmegs (জায়ফল)
- 4-5 Pieces of Mace Strands (যৈয়ত্রী)
- 10-12 Pieces of Cardamom (এলাচ)
- 1/2 Inch of Cinnamon (দারুচিনি)
You will also need:
- A Stove (চুলা)
- A Fry-Pan (কড়াই)
- A big Bowl (গামলা)
- A Powder Strainer (ছাকনী)
- A Spoon for Stirring (চামচ)
And finally, you’ll also need (the most important of all) ‘Common Sense’. In fact, a lot of it.
How to Prepare:
- Alright, if you have collected the above items and if you have a good common sense then we can start.
- Mildly fry all the Base Mix Items. Fry them carefully so that they don’t burn into black.
- Thoroughly mix all three items together and grind them into fine powder.
Separate 1/2 KG of this powder and put it into the bowl. - Break the outer shells of the nutmegs and break the inner kernels to tiny pieces.
- Break the cinnamon into small fragments as well.
- Now, put the pan on the stove.
- Put the ghee in the pan and heat it up slowly.
- Put all the spices altogether in the Ghee and start stirring.
- Do it in a low heat so that the spices don’t burn.
- When everything becomes light brown put the separated base mix into the pan and thoroughly stir-mix the powder with the spice-mix.
- Keep the heat low so that nothing burns.
When the whole thing is properly mixed and fried, a nice and appealing fragrance would come from it. - Stop the stove, put the mix into a big bowl and let the mix cool down.
- When it is cold enough to comfortably hold with bare hands, slowly rub the mix using your both hands.
- Do it over and over until the cardamoms, mace and other things get completely smashed.
- Now with a powder strainer, strain the powder and remove the buckles and other particles.
- After straining store the mixture into an airtight jar.
How to Use:
- Now, take about 1/2 kg of raw Base-Mix in your bait making bowl.
- Take about 5/6 handful (মুঠো) of the above mixture into it.
- Mix them thoroughly with your both hands.
- Add about 3 teaspoons of local liquor, 50 grams of coconut oil and 50 grams of honey into it and mix them very well.
- Add about 100 grams of ant larvae in it. Just softly mix the ant larvae with your fingers.
- Don’t smash or break them. Your bait is ready to rock.